The present invention relates to the field of terminal block connection systems, and, more particularly, to a system for adapting standard off-shelf terminal blocks to a configuration particularly suited for connecting round conductors to flat conductors.
Heretofore, many terminal block connection devices adapted for use with round or flat conductors generally used screws to clamp the conductors to a terminal contact without any insert or pad between the screw and the conductor. When a connection between a flat conductor on one side of a terminal strip was to be made to a round conductor on the other side, difficulties were encountered in achieving a secured connection due to the different shapes of the conductors. One problem was that stranded wire tended to separate and go flat under pressure of the screw.
Some prior art terminal blocks, for example the Buchanan tubular screw catalogue number B102S for use in the Buchanan one-piece phenolic terminal blocks, used rounded pads attached to the tubular screw to bring pressure to bear on the round wire while forcing it to maintain its shape. However, these pads were attached to the tubular screw on both sides of the terminal block. Consequently, the other side of the terminal block was not satisfactory for connecting to a flat conductor because, with a rounded pad, only the edges contacted a flat conductor.
Problems were also encountered in the prior art in connecting different sizes of wire to different sides of the terminal strip. For example, when a large round wire was to be attached to a smaller flat wire, the prior art terminal blocks could not effectively be used off the shelf.